Feb. 3, Thursday -- Nationally renowned environmental historian William J. Cronon will deliver the UC Davis Department of History's annual Eugene Lunn Memorial Lecture. In "The Portage: Memory, History, and Storytelling in the Making of Place," Cronon will explore how people's sense of place is shaped by the stories they tell about their homes, their lives and the landscapes they inhabit. Cronon is the Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. A scholar of the American West, he is famous for his pathbreaking books and articles exploring the history of human interactions with nature. He gained national fame as the author of the highly-acclaimed "Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England" (1983), and by his subsequent selection for a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship. Cronon will deliver his public lecture at 7:30 p.m., in the AGR Room of the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.